Morgan walked alongside Phelps, his eyes fixed ahead, concentrating on finding any sign of the creature's passage on the prairie.

Gabby walked alongside, his shotgun at the ready. He was strangely quiet for a usually talkative man.

"Thank you kindly, Marshal," she said to the town lawman, stuffing the gun in her leather satchel.

As the group headed off, she threw Randolph a casual glance, lips pulling into a thin smile.  "I have no idea what you mean, Mister Darling."  She normally kept her abilities well hidden, but the appearance of monsters had called for drastic measures.  She'd known Randolph for a while, however, and trusted him implicitly.  The others... she wasn't sure what they'd seen or if they'd been too busy shooting to notice, but she'd likely have to deal with their curiosity as well.  None of them seemed to have any issue accepting monsters, however, so perhaps the existence of magic wouldn't bother them as much as other people.

Daniel nodded at Cora as she descended from the train, "Yer welcome, ma'am."

He also turned his face toward Randy and nodded at his question, "Be happy ta show it ta ya later, Mister Darlin', 'specially ta someone who can 'preciate it."

He followed the Marshal towards the front of the train and retrieved a shooting iron for himself, as well as a gun belt and some ammunition. Didn't hurt to have something that he could use in a pinch. Not that he was like to hit anything vital wih it.

He also reclaimed the clothes he had discarded before moving the railroad ties. He smirked a little at his good fortune - had he not removed them to work on the railroad ties, he'd likely be out a shirt, and maybe a duster. He frowned as he looked down at his torn trousers again, sighing heavily at the loss of this pair of pants.

He then followed the rest of the small group in the direction the sewed-together man ran. Since the rest of them were being mostly quiet, Daniel followed suit.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:37, Mon 24 Sept 2012.

Randolph gives Coraline a grin, his teeth flashing whitely in the darkness, and turns his gaze to the ground, seeking any signs of the brute's passage. He can't help but think of Victor Frankenstein's monster.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:17, Mon 24 Sept 2012.

As they made their way away from the train, both Randolph and Caleb managed to find tracks. From the passenger car, an abnormally large set of footprints lead to the stable car. Marshal Phelps followed the two men, giving them some distance as they looked for tracks, not wanting to trample on any clues. "Find anything?" he asked.

Morgan frowned as he studied the ground near the stable car. "There's a second set of prints here," he said, gesturing to the ground. "They belong to a man, or at least that's how they appear. They stop at the car and are replaced by hoof prints. The man mounted up and went that way..." Morgan pointed to the wooded area in the distance, "toward the Smoky Hills. The big tracks of that monster that tried to take Ms. Linkous lead off in that same direction also."

He paused for a moment, frowning. "In all that happened, did anyone actually see Mr. Wilder get snatched? I just...is it possible he got out in the confusion, grabbed a mount, and rode for the hills?" Morgan glanced at Darling. "Given the nature of Mr. Wilder's 'work', could that hulking thing that ripped the roof of the car off be one of his...creations?"

"Is it possible that all those things we fought on the train were his? I mean, they sure did a right handy job of dispatching those fellas that were after him."

Daniel's breath caught a bit as the Marshal seemed to indicate that one of the horses had been taken from the stable car. He rushed toward the car and clambered aboard as quickly as he was able, looking around to see if Jacques was, in fact, still there.

The local law man scratched at his newly grown-in beard as he pondered Caleb's question. "When it comes to things like this, I suppose anything's possible, though it does beg a few questions. If he created these things, and they finished off the fellas that were after him, why'd he need to attack everyone on the train with 'em? Seems like he coulda just rode off without the commotion. Either way, I got no clue."

After spending a little bit of time patting his horse and speaking with the animal in low tones, Daniel returned to the outside of the car, "Didja get a look at which way th'glass broke? If the glass ended up inside th'car, seems likely he got grabbed. And if th'other way 'round with the glass, then mebbe he jus' tried ta escape. Don't much matter right now anyhow, but Missus Linkous didn't seem ta have much confusion, did she?"

It was a non-rhetorical question, as he had been busy worrying about bleeding people, including himself, in the immediate aftermath of the recent assault on the train.

"Mebbe they went rogue." Gabby says. "Or mebbe they was just supposed to effect a rescue, but got carried away. Mrs. Linkous said somethin' smashed through the window first, then went after the roof. Mebbe he never had that great a control on 'em."

"If Wilder ran off, surely he'd have taken his bag along, wouldn't he?" mused Randolph.

"The conductor said the brakeman took a horse and rode for help. You ran into him on the way, Marshall Phelps, isn't that right? I just see one set of hoof prints, Caleb, how about you? And what do you make of these marks here. Look to me like a big animal -- wolf, or maybe catamount. Of course, I'm just a greenhorn."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:50, Mon 24 Sept 2012.

"The brakeman did take a horse, but he rode the other way," he said, pointing to the south.

Pointing to the opposite direction, he gestured north. "These hoof prints go north, into the woods yonder, over to the Smoky Hills. As do these big ol' footprints here, and these paw prints over here. Looks to me like a wolf, though I don't know what a wolf was doin' around here. They usually stay well clear of people. I'm surprised it go so close to the train."

Morgan shrugged. "You're right, Marshal. Wolves do generally steer clear of men. I reckon those things in the car and that big fella smelled pretty odd to 'em, though. Curiosity just got the better of it, more than likely."

He pointed North. "The creature and the rider both head into the woods. That's where we need to follow."

He looked to Gabby and Daniel. "But I wonder...maybe it wasn't an accident that that thing tried to take Mrs. Linkous. Did she happen to mention anything about her husband? What line of work he was in?"

"Ain't it entirely possible that Wilder's experiments weren't limited to human folk?" Gabby asked. "Could be some undead wolves or somethin'."

With that cheery thought, Gabby checks his shotgun again, just to make sure it's loaded and ready.

"All the chatty Mrs. Linkous said about her husband was that he was in Denver and she was traveling to meet him.  I never heard her say what line of work he was in."  Cora held up her lantern to follow the line of tracks, squinting as they disappeared into the darkness.  "Are we following these, then?  Because I'd just as soon rather get going than stand out here and jaw all evening."

"I'gree with Miss Hawthorne. Speculatin' don't get us nowhere anyhow. Let's go find 'im an ask 'im. If ya really think Missus Linkous was a target, then we gotta figger if we wanna leaver her here with the trainmen and that gambler fer protection, or if we wanna bring her with."

He put the fedora he had been holding in his hand back on his head. "Whatever ya wanna do, let's get movin'."

"I think the lady has a point," he said. "We might as well get to it, unless anybody thinks this Mrs. Linkous has any actual valuable information that could lead us to something..." He began to take a few steps with his lantern in the direction of the footsteps, though he didn't rush off, giving anyone time to stop him if they needed to.

Gabby shrugs. There was only so many times you could check your gun, after all. He follows after Phelps.

"The lady has a point," Morgan agreed, falling in step with Phelps. "We need to find Wilder and that creature first and foremost. Miss Linkous should be safe enough with the railroad folks for the time being. Once we find what we find, if she proves important somehow, we can catch up to her in Kinsley."

With that, Morgan lapsed into silence, looking to the tracks on the ground as he walked north alongside his fellow lawman.

The railroad tracks lay just south of the Smoky Hills, which Marshal Dan Phelps lead them into, knowing the local terrain well. The area abutting the rail line was lightly wooded, though the trees grew more sparse as the group continued on, and the terrain grew a little more hilly - in sharp contrast to the flat landscape that seemed to be everywhere in the state.

"Gentlemen, these tracks you've found us seem to lead the same way I was heading originally - to Doc Hodges' mine. I thought earlier that all these events are somehow mixed up, but I'm growing more and more certain every step we take. Don't believe much in coincidences, myself," he said, mainly addressing Caleb and Randolph at first, but eventually spreading around his gaze to Coraline, Daniel and Gabby so as to include the five of them. He seemed to linger both on Coraline and Gabby, as if he thought that a woman and an old geezer should have stayed back on the train, but he didn't say as much.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 17:24, Wed 26 Sept 2012.

"Maybe you oughta tell us more about this Doc Hodges." Gabby mused. "Could be important." He catches the lingering looks the Marshal gives him and the lady and frowns.

Morgan nodded in agreement with Gabby's suggestion. "That's right. I'm not much of a believer in coincidences either, Marshal. What business had you heading for this mine?"

Morgan studied the prairie and the woods up ahead. He felt suddenly uneasy, unable to shake the conviction that someone, or something, was watching the group.

Keeping his voice low, he added, "I'm also not one to ignore my instincts, Marshal Phelps. It's saved my hide a time or two. I haven't seen anyone as yet, but my gut tells me we're being watched."

"We are," Coraline agreed quietly.  Her gaze was turned outward, flitting through the darkness as if following the progress of something particular ahead of them.  The hand not holding the lantern dipped until the fan up her sleeve fell out into her palm.  She flipped it open with a flick of her wrist, still watching the darkness.  "It is out there, ahead of us... keeping pace.  Following our progress."

Daniel looked around at the trees, then back at the other members of the group. He responded quietly, "I felt somethin' out there, too. Thought mebbe I was havin' a reaction ta what we saw before, though. Mebbe we should call out ta whoever it is?"